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Former Springbok prop Robbi Kempson has been appointed as the new high-performance director for the Kings.

The announcement was made by Kings chairperson Loyiso Dotwana at a briefing held with key stakeholders on Thursday.

Kempson, who was schooled at Queen’s College, served as assistant coach with EP in 2009 while also managing the Kings Academy until its collapse in 2017.

He has recently been serving the franchise as a coaching consultant.

The newly-created role will see Kempson in charge of recruitment of quality playing personnel, overseeing coaching structures and establishing a high-performance rugby academy.

‘Robbi Kempson is a widely respected professional in rugby circles and is known for his extensive knowledge of the game, having played rugby at the highest level, and for his immense role in the nurturing of young talent from this province,’ said Dotwana. ‘It was therefore a natural decision to appoint one of the sons of the Eastern Cape province to this important role.’

It was also confirmed that Deon Davids will remain as head coach, with his contract running until May 2020.

Dotwana said that one of the key objectives of the franchise was to improve the on-field results from the 2019-20 Pro14 season.

‘We expect next season to be very different. Just like in business, we are also ambitious with the results that we expect on the field. The groundwork to ensure that we achieve our targets is already under way for the season.

‘We will be doing everything possible to source the best possible talent to strengthen the core base of the team. This will be balanced with high-potential local talent within the current team and also other emerging players.’